Induced ruminative and mindful self-focus in daily life across the menstrual cycle in women with and without premenstrual dysphoric disorder.

Rumination and mindfulness are known risk and protective factors for mental health, but their role in Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD) is unclear. In 60 women with PMDD and 60 healthy controls, brief ambulatory inductions of ruminative and mindful self-focus were administered during the follicular and late luteal phases. Women with PMDD showed stronger increases in positive affect in response to mindful self-focus during the late luteal phase, but not during the follicular phase. Across all participants, induced rumination immediately increased negative affect and rumination while decreasing present-moment awareness, whereas mindful self-focus increased self-acceptance. These results suggest that cycle-phase-specific mindfulness interventions may benefit PMDD, and that both rumination and mindfulness are targets for brief interventions regardless of cycle phase or clinical status.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Rumination and mindfulness are transdiagnostic risk and protective factors while their role in Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD) is unclear. Thus, we aimed to investigate the cycle-phase-specific effects of rumination and mindful self-focus on momentary mood and cognitions in women with and without PMDD. This study involved brief ambulatory inductions of ruminative and mindful self-focus along with ambulatory assessments of negative (NA) and positive affect (PA), and rumination, present-moment-awareness (PMA) and self-acceptance on two days during both the follicular and late luteal phase in women with and without PMDD (n = 60 each). Compared to healthy controls, women with PMDD showed stronger increases in PA in response to mindful self-focus inductions during the late luteal phase, whereas no such group differences were identified during the follicular phase. Independent of clinical status and cycle phase, induced ruminative self-focus immediately increased momentary NA and rumination and decreased PMA, whereas induced mindful self-focus inductions increased momentary self-acceptance. Overall, higher PA-reactivity toward mindful self-focusing during late luteal phase in women with PMDD points to the potential of cycle-phase-specific mindfulness interventions for PMDD. Irrespective of cycle phase, rumination and mindfulness appear to represent targets for brief prevention and intervention measures for both non-clinical and clinical groups.